RB Busts 2025: Five Fantasy Football Running Backs That Could Destroy Your Season

Players to avoid in 2025 fantasy football

Fantasy football draft season is heating up, and if you’re serious about dominating your league in 2025, you need to avoid these high-risk running backs at all costs. Every year, overhyped RBs find their way into the early rounds of drafts, only to crush fantasy teams with underperformance, injuries, or complete role reversals.

In this deep-dive breakdown, we’ll expose five running backs you must avoid in 2025 fantasy football — including a shocking name at the end who could torpedo your season from the first round. If you want to play it safe, play it smart, and draft to win, keep reading.

Let’s dive into the RB busts of 2025.

James Cook is set to bust in 2025!(Photo by Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire)

🚫 1. James Cook (Buffalo Bills) – The Classic One-Hit Wonder Trap

Current ADP: ~44 Overall (Round 4)
RB Bust Risk: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Let’s call it like it is — James Cook is the product of circumstance, not talent.

In 2024, Cook flashed a breakout year with over 1,100 rushing yards and 10 total TDs. But it was a mirage, aided by a perfect storm: lack of red zone weapons, low passing volume, and minimal backfield competition.

Here’s the reality:

• Combined 4 rushing TDs in his first two years

• No long-term commitment from the Bills

• Buffalo added Trey Harris — a legit red-zone threat

• Josh Allen’s pass attempts were down significantly in 2024

James Cook is heading into a contract year with no guaranteed volume. He’s not built to handle heavy touches, and the Bills will be more balanced in 2025. You’re buying the top of the market at a fourth-round cost for a player who likely won’t repeat his production.

✅ Verdict: Don’t fall for the 2024 stats — Cook is a trap with limited upside and significant bust potential. Do not draft on any fantasy football roster this NFL season!

(Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire)

🚫 2. James Conner (Arizona Cardinals) – The Clock Is Ticking

Current ADP: ~Round 5-6
RB Bust Risk: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Here’s the truth: James Conner is hanging on by a thread. At 30 years old and entering his ninth NFL season, Conner is the definition of a fantasy landmine.

Despite finishing as RB11 in 2024, it’s easy to see the cracks:

• Barely topped 1,000 rushing yards

• Yards per carry below 4.0

• New blood incoming: rookie RB Trey Benson

Trey Benson is the future — and it won’t take long for him to eat into Conner’s touches. Benson has expressed a clear desire to be the workhorse back, and the Cardinals didn’t draft another RB for a reason.

Fantasy managers will be tempted to plug Conner in as an RB2 or flex. But with injury risk, age, and reduced explosiveness, that’s a massive mistake.

✅ Verdict: Avoid betting on a 30-year-old RB with a younger, hungrier option breathing down his neck. He will always lack that upside ceiling and be a medicore player that is ready to fall off the cliff.

Don’t settle for 2nd best with David Montgomery (Photo by Andrew Bershaw/Icon Sportswire)

🚫 3. David Montgomery (Detroit Lions) – The Ultimate Touch Vulture

Current ADP: ~62 Overall (Round 5-6)
RB Bust Risk: 🔥🔥🔥

David Montgomery is a fantasy headache in human form.

Yes, he’s good for 200+ carries and likely double-digit TDs — but he’s also a fantasy handcuff going in starter territory. Why waste a premium mid-round pick on a backup RB?

Consider the facts:

• RB2 to Jahmyr Gibbs

• Low ceiling, high floor player — fantasy Purgatory

• Relies entirely on TDs, with minimal receiving upside

Even if he stays healthy, Montgomery is going to cap Gibbs’ ceiling while simultaneously giving you limited boom weeks. Unless you’re playing TD-only leagues in 1997, there’s no need to reach for Montgomery this early.

✅ Verdict: Avoid at his current ADP. Only consider as a Gibbs handcuff — and even then, draft him late.

🚫 4. Najee Harris (Los Angeles Chargers) – The Shell of a Workhorse

Current ADP: ~Round 8-9
RB Bust Risk: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

We’ve seen enough. Najee Harris is not that guy.

The former first-round pick averaged just 3.9 yards per carry in 2024 and has zero explosiveness left. Now on the Chargers, Harris is in a true committee with Omari Hampton, a rookie who’s expected to take over the bulk of the work.

Let’s break it down:

• RB2/1B status at best

• Minimal burst, slow-footed, between-the-tackles plodder

• Chargers’ offense will prioritize youth in Hampton

Najee Harris might steal short-yardage work or goal-line touches, but he offers no upside and will be a weekly start/sit nightmare.

✅ Verdict: Late-round price or not, Najee Harris is the kind of player who kills roster flexibility. Avoid.

CMC is boom ot bust in 2025 (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire)

⚠️ 5. Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco 49ers) – The Ultimate Boom-or-Bust Risk

Current ADP: ~1.06 to 2.02
RB Bust Risk: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Yes, we said it. The fantasy football god himself, Christian McCaffrey, could be a bust in 2025.

Before you scream blasphemy, consider this:

• Only two fully healthy seasons in the past five years

• Three of his last five seasons ended in busts

• Turning 30 in 2025 — ancient in RB years

• Paid, comfortable, and already accomplished

McCaffrey has little left to prove and no contract to chase. He’s one more hamstring tweak away from fantasy disaster — and you’re spending a top-8 pick to draft him.

Even worse: Elijah Mitchell and rookie Isaac Guerin are waiting in the wings, and the 49ers may want to ease CMC’s workload in order to preserve him for the playoffs.

✅ Verdict: At best, he’s a top-5 RB. At worst, he’s an early-round bust who tanks your season. 50/50 coin toss — no thanks.

⚠️ Bonus Bust: Saquon Barkley (Philadelphia Eagles)

RB Bust Risk: 🔥🔥🔥

We all love the name, but the move to Philly raises big red flags.

• Crowded backfield with Swift, Gainwell, and Penny

• Unclear workload split

• Injury history

• Not the focal point of the offense

Barkley has top-5 talent, but if you’re expecting 300 touches, you’re setting yourself up for heartbreak.

🔁 Summary: Top 6 Running Backs to Avoid in 2025 Fantasy Football

🧠 Final Thoughts: Draft Smart, Win Big

The 2025 fantasy football season will be won by those who avoid landmines just as much as those who find breakouts. These running backs — while talented and sometimes tempting — carry too much risk for the price you’ll pay.

Don’t be swayed by name value or last year’s stats. Draft with your head, not your heart.

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